Anyone on here a fan?

I remember going to one of their games many years ago when they played at Myreside but it didn't really stick in the memory. However, yesterday my family and I were given some complimentary tickets to attend the first match in their new 'mini Murrayfield' stadium for a pre-season friendly against Newcastle Falcons.

With its scaffolding-type stands and canvas roofs the ground has the feel of something that might get thrown up for the Royal Highland Show, but I must say I really enjoyed the experience. The glorious sunshine was a big positive, but it was refreshingly different to see fans of both sides gathering at the numerous beer and food outlets and then sitting together in the stadium. I think there were circa 6 or 7k there, so it was pretty much full and with the stands so close to the pitch you got a really good view of the game (despite the fact there are some Kenny Waugh-style pillars along the front of the stands!). There are also some wee safe standing areas along the front of a couple of the stands so overall I thought it was quite well done. Much better (I'm guessing) than a similarly-sized crowd rattling around the 70k capacity Murrayfield.

What I probably enjoy most about watching sports I don't normally attend is that when you don't really mind who wins you can just sit back (with a beer in this case) and enjoy it for sport's sake.

Oh, and while my initial impression was that the pitch was outstandingly maintained it turned out to be some sort of hybrid surface which seemed to hold up extremely well.